The Ceres Trust will again commit to first-year funding of at least $500,000 in Organic Research Initiative competitive grants in 2010. These grants will be made to universities and other nonprofit institutions in the 12-state region to support organic research projects for up to three years at up to $60,000 a year.
A Request for Applications will be posted June 1 for the second year of the competitive program. Applications for the organic research initiative will be due September 15, 2010, and grant decisions will be announced by the end of the year.
The website where the Request for Applications will be posted and made available for downloading is www.thecerestrust.org.
The Ceres Trust made 13 grants of up to $60,000 a year in 2009, nearly all for support of 3-year research projects. The total funding commitment for the 3-year period is $1,911,192. All but one was made to a land grant university in the 12-state region. The states in the region are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
The Ceres Trust also announced a new grant program to support graduate student organic research. The foundation will make up to 10 grants of up to $10,000 each this spring to support organic research by graduate students.
A Request for Applications (RFA) will be posted March 1 on the Ceres Trust website with an April 1 closing date for applications. The awards will be announced in the spring and the funds made available a short time later.
The website where the RFA will be posted and made available for downloading is www.thecerestrust.org.
Applicants submitting proposals must be graduate students enrolled at accredited colleges and universities in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Student applicants must coordinate and conduct their organic research projects with input from a faculty adviser identified in the proposal.
The Ceres Trust is a privately administered charitable trust based in the Midwest. It takes its name from the ancient Roman goddess of agriculture. Ceres has as its main focus the support and promotion of organic and sustainable agriculture.
